Review: In The End, Only Darkness by Monica O’Rourke

June 17, 2013

I first came across Monica O’Rourke‘s writing without realizing it. Another one of my author collegues sent me a link to download “Jasmine and Garlic”. I really enjoyed the short story, but had yet to meet Monica. We finally crossed paths in Las Vegas at KillerCon 4 in 2012. When I heard she had a collection of dark poetry and short horror stories out, I was more than happy to check it out. Not only does it satisfy my needs for well-written short stories, it was nice to meet another female writer for a penchant for the extreme. In The End, Only Darkness is sure to please the reader who seeks out fantastically written scenes of shock and gore.

Stories that deserve mention (aka my faves):

*Attainable Beauty: Molly has an appreciation for art and she’s fallen in love with a certain painting. The painting becomes her idol as she learns each brush stroke and absorbs every colour nuance. While art appreciation is important, has her love for art also becoming a debilitating disease?

*Huntin’ Season: Sometimes the hunters become the hunted. (This story sure resonated with me. Wow. Just wow. I think it was probably my favourite story in the collection.)

*Vade in Pacem: An excellent flash story about the importance of confessing your sins.

*The Rest Of Larry: Larry wakes up in a precarious problem. It seems like he’s half the man he used to be…

*Maternal Instinct: A look into maternal instinct and how some people just don’t have any at all.

*Oral Mohel: Jack decides to convert to Judaism so he can marry Sarah. Circumcision is on the list of to dos, so Jack calls the best in the game.

*An Experiment In Human Nature: Rich kids  have too much time on their hands, as told by this gory tale of torture and human will.

Monica’s stories are not for the faint of heart, but if you’re looking for something to read that makes you say, “Oh my god…” This would be the perfect collection for you.

***Five out of Five Stars***

Pick up an e-copy of In The End, Only Darkness – HERE.

MDG

Written by mandydegeit Posted in review Tagged with collection, dark, horror, In The End, Monica O'Rourke, Only Darkness, poetry, short stories